I am very sad to look at Madison Avenue or London and see how much people are psychologically disturbed by the economy. No, the days of buying a couture dress are not here, but to lift the spirits, maybe buy a little something — a bit of perfume, a scarf, something to give yourself more confidence and pleasure.
”-- Valentino on shopping and spending money wisely during this recession. From Wowowow.
It's officially Milan Fashion Week.
While we wait with baited breath to see what ugly-pretty things Miucci Prada has whipped up this season, here's a little social commentary on the current state of fashion editors:
They're broke.
Okay, maybe not them personally but the publishers who employ their immaculately dressed selves are most certainly hard on cash right. As a result, less editors have been sent over to cover the European shows this season in order to save money or as Fashion Week Daily reports:
"Gone was the usual assault of merciless crowding, deskside altercations, and even excess bags that accompany this near-mandatory leg of the Fashion Express that shuttles editors from New York to Milan to Paris...and then home again nearly a month later. Once boarded, each American editor--including representatives from Lucky, Glamour and InStyle--was given an entire row to herself in the eerily empty 747. (A few even scored seats in business class!) Granted, the revised show schedule allowed editors to fly mid-week instead of taking the usual Friday night flight, but last season, the notorious #44 drew at least a dozen editors on the eve of Milan's first official day of Fashion Week. Did the last-minute cancellation of Just Cavalli's show (traditionally the week's first big draw) tempt top types to stay home one more day?"
It'll be interesting to see how the likes of Donatella Versace and Roberto Cavalli will allow the desmile economic environment to effect their runway presentations. Especially since the latter insists in covering everything in animal print which seems totally inappropriate right now.
I don’t know why this whole idea of customers moving away from expensive brands would apply to fashion only. It should be across the board then because a sophisticated consumers buys expensive art, design and furniture. I’m really pleased that we’ve always worked much more on the product than on the brand and I think this pays back. Crisis always pushes you to do better.
”Miuccia Prada's Lament About On The Economy - WWD."I see it like a cleaning up - it was too rotten anyway - so it had to be cleaned up. I see it like a healthy thing - horrible but healthy, like some miracle treatment of the world."
-- Karl Lagerfeld on the global recession. From Vogue UK.
Oh, lord. Can we have an hour go by without someone in the fashion industry announcing that they are either not showing at Fashion Week or something else economically responsible? Ugh. The recession is a bitch, people.
According WWD:
"PARIS — Chanel on Friday said it would pull the plug on its costly Mobile Art exhibition that was slated to travel to major cities worldwide in a space-age pre-fab structure by architect Zaha Hadid.
The decision comes amid snowballing bad economic news and Wall Street scandals and reflects a new sobriety for luxurious endeavors.
"Considering the current economic crisis, we decided it was best to stop the project," said a Chanel spokeswoman. "We will be concentrating on strategic growth investments."
Conceived by Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld with Hadid, the Mobile Art exhibition was one of the most ambitious art-meets-fashion cohabitations embraced by the luxury and fashion worlds.
Chanel planned to use Hadid's building to accrue brand equity by displaying artworks inspired by Chanel's 2.55 quilted, chain-strap handbag."
Honestly, this really isn't troubling news considering the exhibit was really random and Karl appeared to be totally ambivalent abobut the project when asked about it. But still. No more, please.
